The List: May 2014

Goodbye May, Hello June! Here are a dozen or so snapshots that capture the month that was.

Cooking & Baking

Beet thoran. If you don't like beets, we can't be friends. Kidding, kidding. A friend directed me towards this recipe for beet thoran- thoran being the flavorful and minimalist way of cooking vegetables, Kerala style. And as I was saying, if you don't like beets, I think you'll start to like them the minute you taste this thoran.

I tried a long-pinned recipe and made these mini quiches. The recipe calls for a crust that is simply mixed and patted into the pan- no rolling required. I used a caramelized onion filling. The result was wonderful except for one thing- the filling cooks before the crust is well browned. Maybe I should try blind baking the crust next time?

A friend threw a cinco de mayo party (any excuse to drink margaritas at 3 PM, right?) and I finally had a chance to make the tres leches cake I saw on America's Test Kitchen. The cake was a hit- but alarmingly rich and sweet, so definitely a rare treat to be shared with many.



Reading

Image: Goodreads

The best book I read all month was a graphic memoir: Marbles by Ellen Forney. Forney is a cartoonist and she tells us her story of grappling with bipolar disorder, also known as manic depression. She worries about whether her illness is correlated with her creativity ("mad genius") and whether dosing herself with medication will kill her art. Her memoir is touching, illuminating (mental illness being as misunderstood as it is) and believe it or not, entertaining because of her personality and honesty. "My sufferings are a part of my self and my art. They are indistinguishable from me, and their destruction would destroy my art." 

Radhika's eloquent review made me pick up the book and I'm glad I did.



Enjoying

Strawberry ice cream made by a friend with berries that she picked with her daughters.

Magnolias- the iconic Southern trees are in bloom now. I love the big bold white flowers and the intoxicating fragrance that carries in the breeze.

Sun and sand!

A cool painting that we bought from a local artist. The restaurants here have art exhibits; we went to lunch with visiting relatives and couldn't take our eyes off this. It is huge (8 feet x 4 feet) and every time I look at it, I notice a new detail.


Sewing

Tote bags as quick and functional gifts. I used the 40 minute tote bag pattern- the only change is that I made my own handles from fabric. They take 40 minutes to make if you don't have a toddler underfoot, otherwise all bets are off.

Quilt blocks for the quilt I'm working on. This one is called the bear paw.

A town quilt for my nephew's birthday. It is the same pre-printed panel I've used before to make a quilt, but I added some suburbs to make it bigger.

Our big milestone this month was that Lila is fully potty trained during the day time at least. She's super excited and a bit obsessed about the whole thing. We were out on a walk and a kindly older neighbor asked her, "How are you doing, Lila?" only to be told, "I am peeing in the potty!" To his credit, he kept a straight face and solemnly congratulated her.

I keep dreading that this kid is going to ask one of our proper-Southern-lady neighbors, "Are you wearing underwear"?! The book on the left is very funny and cute, by the way.

Ahem, on that note, what have you been cooking, eating, enjoying and making in May? Any milestones to report ;)? 

And with that I say
night night